To-day we begin, as does the holy Gospel, to number the days which precede the death, the sacrifice, of the Lamb of God. St. John, in the twelfth chapter of his Gospel, tells us that this is the sixth day before the Pasch.
Jesus is in Bethania, where a feast is being given in His honour. Lazarus, whom Jesus has restored to life, is present at this repast, which is given in the house of Simon the leper. Martha is busy looking after the various arrangements; her sister, Mary Magdalene, has a heavenly presentiment that the death and burial of her beloved Master are soon to be, and she has poured upon Him a precious perfume. The holy Gospel, which ever preserves such a mysterious reserve with regard to the Mother of Jesus, does not tell us that Mary was at Bethania on this occasion, but there can be no doubt of her being present. The apostles were also there, and partook of the repast. Whilst the friends of our Saviour are thus grouped around Him, in this village, which is about two thousand paces from Jerusalem, the aspect of the faithless city becomes more and more threatening; and yet, though His disciples are not aware of it, Jesus is to enter the city to-morrow, and in a most public manner. The heart of Mary is a prey to sadness; Magdalene is absorbed in grief; everything announces that the fatal day is near.
The Church has reserved for Monday next the Gospel which relates the history of this Saturday. The reason is that, formerly, and up to the twelfth century, there was no Station held on this day in Rome: it was left free, in order that the Pope might rest before the great fatigues of Holy Week, whose long and solemn services were to begin on the morrow. But, although he did not preside over the assembly of the faithful, he had to observe two usages, which had been handed down by tradition, and had almost become of liturgical importance in the Church at Rome.
During the whole year, the Pope used, every Sunday, to send a portion of the sacred Species consecrated by him, to each of the priests of the presbyterial titles, or parochial churches of the city. But it was to-day that this distribution was made for the whole of Holy Week, perhaps on account of to-morrow’s long service. We know from the ancient liturgical books of Rome, that it was in the Lateran consistory that to-day’s sacred distribution was made, and it is probable (as the blessed Cardinal Tommasiand Benedict XIV tell us) that the bishops of the suburbicarian churches were of the number of those who received it. We have several instances proving that, formerly, bishops occasionally sent to one another the blessed Sacrament, as a sign of the union that existed between them. With regard to the priests of the city parochial churches, to whom a Particle was sent by the Pope, they put a portion of it in the chalice before receiving the precious Blood.
The other custom, peculiar to this day, consisted in giving alms to all the poor. The Pope presided at this distribution, which was no doubt made ample enough to last the whole of the coming week, when, on account of the long ceremonies, it would scarcely be possible to attend to individual cases of poverty. The liturgists of the middle-ages allude to the beautiful appropriateness of the Roman Pontiff’s distributing alms with his own hand to the poor, on this day, the same on which Mary Magdalene embalmed with her perfumes the feet of Jesus.
Since the twelfth century, a Station has been assigned to this Saturday; it takes place in the Church of St. John before the Latin Gate. This ancient basilica is built near the spot where the beloved disciple was, by Domitian’s order, plunged into the cauldron of boiling oil.
Collect
Proficiat, quæsumus, Domine, plebs tibi dicata piæ devotionis affectu: ut sacris actionibus erudita, quanto majestati tuæ fit gratior, tanto donis potioribus augeatur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
May the people consecrated to thy service, we beseech thee, O Lord, improve in the affections of piety; that instructed by these holy mysteries, they may be so much the more enriched with thy heavenly gifts, as they become more acceptable to thy divine majesty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Epistle
Lectio Jeremiæ Prophetæ.
Cap. xviii.
In diebus illis: Dixerunt impii Judæi ad invicem: Venite, et cogitemus contra Justum cogitationes: non enim peribit lex a sacerdote, neque consilium a sapiente, nec sermo a propheta: venite, et percutiamus eum lingua, et non attendamus ad universos sermones ejus. Attende, Domine, ad me; et audi vocem adversariorum meorum. Numquid redditur pro bono malum, quia foderunt foveam animæ meæ? Recordare quod steterim in conspectu tuo, ut loquerer pro eis bonum, et averterem indignationem tuam ab eis. Propterea da filios eorum in famem, et deduc eos in manus gladii; fiant uxores eorum absque liberis, et viduæ: et viri earum interficiantur morte: juvenes eorum confodiantur gladio in prælio. Audiatur clamor de domibus eorum: adduces enim super eos latronem repente: quia foderunt foveam ut caperent me, et laqueos absconderunt pedibus meis. Tu autem, Domine, scis omne consilium eorum adversum me in mortem: ne propitieris iniquitati eorum, et peccatum eorum a facie tua non deleatur: fiant comientes in conspectu tuo, in tempore furoris tui abutere eis, Domine Deus noster.
Lesson from Jeremias the Prophet.
Ch. xviii.
In those days, the wicked Jews said to one another: Come, and let us invent devices against the Just: for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us strike him with the tongue, and let us give no heed to all his words. Give heed to me, O Lord, and hear the voice of my adversaries. Shall evil be rendered for good, because they have digged a pit for my soul? Remember that I have stood in thy sight to speak good for them, and to turn away thy indignation from them. Therefore deliver up their children to famine, and bring them into the hands of the sword; let their wives be bereaved of children, and widows; and let their husbands be slain by death; let their young men be stabbed with the sword in battle. Let a cry be heard out of their houses; for thou shalt bring the robber upon them suddenly, because they have digged a pit to take me, and have hid snares for my feet. But thou, O Lord, knowest all their counsel against me unto death; forgive not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from thy sight: let them be overthrown before thy eyes, in the time of thy wrath do thou destroy them, O Lord our God.
It makes us tremble to read these awful anathemas, which Jeremias, the figure of Christ, speaks against his enemies, the Jews. This prophecy, which was literally fulfilled at the first destruction of Jerusalem by the Assyrians, received a more terrible fulfilment at the second visitation of God’s anger upon this city of malediction. This time, it was not because the Jews had persecuted a prophet; it was because they had rejected and crucified the very Son of God. It was to their long-expected Messias that they had rendered evil for good. It was not a saint, like Jeremias, that had spoken good for them to the Lord, and besought Him to turn away His indignation from them; the Man-God Himself had, without ceasing, made intercession for them, and treated them with the tenderest mercy. But all was in vain; this ungrateful people seemed to hate their divine Benefactor in proportion to His love for them; and at length, in the transport of their fury, they cried out: ‘His Blood be upon us and upon our children!’[1] What a frightful chastisement they entailed on themselves by this imprecation! God heard and remembered. Alas! the sinner, who knows Jesus and the worth of His Blood, yet who again sheds this precious Blood, does not he expose himself to the severity of that same justice which fell so heavily on the Jews? Let us tremble and pray: let us implore the divine mercy in favour of those many obstinately blind and hardened sinners, who are hastening to destruction. Oh! that by the fervour of our supplications addressed to the merciful Heart of our common Redeemer, we could obtain a reversion of their sentence, and secure them pardon!
Gospel
Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem.
Cap. xii.
In illo tempore: Cogitaverunt principes sacerdotum, ut et Lazarum interficerent: quia multi propter ilium abibant ex Judæis, et credebant in Jesum. In crastinum autem turba multa, quæ venerat ad diem festum, cum audissent quia venit Jesus Jerosolymam: acceperunt ramos palmarum, et processerunt obviam ei, et clamabant: Hosanna: benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Rex Israel. Et invenit Jesus asellum, et sedit super eum, sicut scriptum est: Noli timere, filia Sion: ecce Rex tuus venit sedens super pullum asinæ. Hæc non cognoverunt discipuli ejus primum: sed quando glorificatus est Jesus, tunc recordati sunt quia hæcerant scripta de eo: et hæc fecerunt ei.
Testimonium ergo perhibebat turba, quæ erat cum eo quando Lazarum vocavit de monumento, et suscitavit eum a mortuis. Propterea et obviam venit ei turba: quia audierunt eum fecisse hoc signum. Pharisæi ergo dixerunt ad semetipsos: Videtie quia nihil proficimus? Ecce mundus totus post eum abiit. Erant autem quidam Gentiles ex his, qui ascenderant ut adorarent in die festo. Hi ergo accesserunt ad Philippum, qui erat a Bethsaida Galilææ, et rogabant eum, dicentes: Domine, volumus Jesum videre. Venit Philippus, et dicit Andreæ: Andreas rursum et Philippus dixerunt Jesu.
Jesus autem, respondit eis, dicens: Venit hora, ut clarificetur Filius hominis. Amen, amen, dico vobis, nisi granum frumenti cadens in terrain, mortuum fuerit, ipsum solum manet. Si autem mortuum fuerit, multum fructum affert. Qui amat animam suam, perdet eam: et qui odit animam suam in hoc mundo, in vitam æternam custodit eam. Si quis mihi ministrat, me sequatur; et ubi sum ego, illic et minister meus erit. Si quis mihi ministraverit, honorificabit eum Pater meus. Nunc anima mea turbata est. Et quid dieam? Pater, salvifica me ex hac hora. Sed propterea veni in horam hanc. Pater, clarifica nomen tuum. Venit ergo vox de cœlo: Et clarificavi, et iterum clarificabo. Turba ergo, quæ stabat et audierat, dicebat tonitruum esse factum. Alii dicebant: Angelus ei locutus est.
Respondit Jesus, et dixit: Non propter me hæc vox venit, sed propter vos. Nunc judicium est mundi: nunc princeps hujus mundi ejicietur foras. Et ego si exaltatuB fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum: (hoc autem dicebat, significans qua morte esset moriturus). Respondit ei turba: Nos audivimue ex lege, quia Christus manet in æternum: et quomodo tu dicis: Oportet exaltari Filium hominis? Quis est iste Filius hominis? Dixit ergo eis Jesus: Adhuc modicum lumen in vobis est. Ambulate dum lucem habetis, ut non vos tenebræ comprehendant: et qui ambulat in tenebris, nescit quo vadat. Dum lucem habetis, credite in lucem, ut filii lucis sitis. Hæc locutus est Jesus: et abiit, et abscondit se ab eis.
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to John.
Ch. xii.
At that time: The chief priests thought to kill Lazarus also, because many of the Jews by reason of him went away, and believed in Jesus. And on the next day a great multitude, that was come to the festival day, when they had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried: Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel! And Jesus found a young ass, and sat upon it, as it is written: Fear not, daughter of Sion; behold thy king cometh sitting on an ass’s colt. These things his disciples did not know at first; but when Jesus was glorified, they then remembered that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things to him.
The multitude therefore gave testimony, which was with him, when he called Lazarus out of the grave, and raised him from the dead. For which reason also the people came to meet him, because they heard that he had done this miracle. The pharisees therefore said among themselves: Do you see that we prevail nothing? behold the whole world is gone after him. Now there were certain Gentiles among them, who came up to adore on the festival day. These therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him saying: Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh, and telleth Andrew. Again Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
But Jesus answered them, saying: The hour is come that the Son of man shall be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life, shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal. If any man minister to me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause I came unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. A voice therefore came from heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The multitude therefore that stood and heard, said that it thundered. Others said: An angel spoke to him.
Jesus answered and said: This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of the world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself. (Now this he said, signifying what death he should die.) The multitude answered him: We have heard out of the law, that Christ abideth for ever; and how sayest thou: the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little while, the light is among you. Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not; and he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. Whilst you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be children of light. These things Jesus spoke, and he went away and hid himself from them.
The enemies of Jesus have come to that pitch of hatred, which robs a man of his senses. Lazarus, who has been restored from death to life, is here standing before them; and instead of his resuscitation convincing them of Jesus’ being the Messias, it sets them thinking how best to make away with this irresistible witness. O senseless men! that Jesus who raised him to life when dead, can again bring him to life if you murder him. Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, which we are solemnly to commemorate to-morrow, adds to their jealousy and hatred. Behold! say they, 'We prevail nothing: the whole world goes after Him.' Alas! this ovation is to be soon followed by one of those reverses to which a populace is so subject. Meanwhile, however, we have certain Gentiles who desire to see Jesus. It is the beginning of the fulfilment of Jesus’ prophecy: ‘The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof.’[2] Then shall the Son of man be glorified; then shall all nations, by their humble homage to the Crucified, protest against the sinful blindness of the Jews. But, before this comes to pass, it is requisite that the divine Wheat be cast into the ground, and die. Then, the glorious harvest; and the beautiful seed shall yield a hundredfold.
And yet, Jesus feels, in His human nature, a momentary fear at the thought of this death He is to undergo. It is not the agony in the garden; it is a trouble of soul. Let us listen to His words: 'Father! save Me from this hour.' It is our God who foresees all that He is about to suffer for our sake, and it fills Him with fear: He asks to be freed from it, though His will has decreed and accepted it. He immediately adds: 'But for this cause I came unto this hour: Father! glorify Thy name.' His soul is now calm; He once more accepts the hard conditions of our salvation. After this, His words bespeak a triumph; by virtue of the sacrifice about to be offered, satan shall be dethroned: the prince of this world shall be cast out. But the defeat of satan is not the only fruit of our Saviour’s immolation: man, earthly and depraved creature as he is, is to be raised from this earth to heaven. The Son of God is to be the heavenly loadstone, attracting man to Himself: 'And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself.' He forgets His sufferings, and the terrible death which just now troubled Him; He thinks but of the defeat of our implacable enemy, and of our being saved and glorified by His cross. These few words reveal the whole Heart of our Redeemer: if we attentively weigh them, they will suffice to inflame us with devotion as we celebrate the ineffable mysteries of Holy Week.
Humiliate capita vestia Deo.
Tueatur quæsumus, Domine, dextera tua populum deprecantem, et purificatum dignanter erudiat: ut consolatione præsenti, ad futura bona proficiat. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Bow down your heads to God.
May thy right hand, O Lord, we beseech thee, protect thy people making supplication to thee, and purifying them from their sins, make them wise, that they may make such use of the comforts of this present life, as to arrive at that which is eternal. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us sue for mercy from the Saviour of our souls, in these words of supplication used in the Gothic liturgy of Spain.
Supplication (Feria VI Dominicæ V)
℣. Miserere, et parce, clementissime Domine, populo tuo. ℟.Quia peccavimus tibi.
℣. De crucis throno aspice nos miseros, et passionum compeditos vinculis, nostris absolve, Redemptor, suppliciis. ℟. Quia peccavimus tibi.
℣. Passus flagella, et crucis injuriam, persecutorum sustinens convicia, dona delictis nostris poenitentiam. ℟. Quia peccavimus tibi.
℣. Qui justus judex, male judicatus es, et pænas crucis suscepisti innocens: tu nos a pænis nostris salva redimens. ℟. Quia peccavimus tibi.
℣. Vox tua Patrem pro nobis expostulet, quæ silens fuit olim ante judicem, ut te regnante perfruamur Domino. ℟.Quia peccavimus tibi.
℣. Have mercy upon, and spare, thy people, O most merciful Lord! ℟. For we have sinned against thee.
℣. Look down, from the throne of thy cross, upon us miserable creatures, who are fettered by the chains of our passions. Deliver us, O thou our Redeemer, from the punishments we deserve. ℟. For we have sinned against thee.
℣. O thou that wast scourged, ignominiously crucified, and insulted by them that persecuted thee! grant us repentance for our sins. ℟. For we have sinned against thee.
℣. O thou, the just Judge, that wast judged unjustly, and, though innocent, made to suffer the tortures of the cross! save us from our merited punishments, for thou art our Redeemer. ℟. For we have sinned against thee.
℣. O thou, that heretofore wast silent before the judge! raise up thy voice in pleading for us to thy Father, that we may be happy with thee, our King and Lord. ℟. For we have sinned against thee.
The following sequence, in praise of Mary, is most appropriate for this Saturday of Passion-week. It sweetly blends together the homages we owe to the cross of Jesus and to the dolours of Mary. We have taken it from the Horæ of the sixth century.
Sequence
Lignum vitæ quærimus, Qui vitam amisimus Fructu ligni vetiti.
Nec inventum noverit Qui fructum non viderit Adhærentem stipiti.
Fructus per quem vivitur Pendet, sicut creditur, Virginis ad ubera.
Et ad crucem iterum, Inter viros scelerum, Passus quinque vulnera.
Hic Virgo puerpera, Hic crux salutifera: Ambo ligna mystica.
Hæc hyssopus humilis, Illa cedrue nobilis: Utraque vivifica.
Positus in medio, Quo me vertam nescio.
In hoc dulci dubio, Dulcis est collatio.
Hic complexus brachiis, Modis vagit variis.
Hic extendit brachia, Complexurus omnia.
Charum Mater tenere Novit hic tenere.
Charitas sub latere, Nescit hie latere.
Hic adhærens pectori, Pascitur ab ubere.
Hic affixus arbori, Pascit nos ex vulnere.
Crux ministrat pabula, Fructu nos reficiens.
Mater est præambula, Fructum nobis nutriens.
Tandem ad hoc trahitur Finalis sententia. Quod nemo consequitur Unam sine alia.
Qui crucem elegerit, Nec sic Matrem deserit: Cuna ad crucem venerit, Matrem ibi poterit Stantem invenire.
Nec qui Matrem eligit, Crucem prorsus abigit, Si modum intelligit Quo per Matrem contigit Gladium transire.
Fili Matris unice, Matris crucifixæ, Nos de cruce respice, Fili crucifixe.
Fructus o vivifico, Fructus ligni vitæ, Nos teipso refice, Nobis da frui te.
Amen.
We that, by the fruit of the forbidden tree, lost our life, now seek the tree of life.
He alone hath found this tree, who sees the branch whereon is fixed the fruit.
Our faith tells us, that the fruit, that gives us life, hangs on Mary’s breast.
And on the cross, between two thieves, though here he is pierced with five wounds.
The Virgin-Mother, and the saving cross, both are mystic trees;
The cross, humble as the hyssop; Mary, noble as the cedar: both are trees of life.
Placed between the two, I know not to which to turn.
O sweet perplexity! O sweet comparison!
Here, my Jesus lies, fondled in his Mother’s arms, a weeping little Babe;
There, with his arms stretched out, calling all to his embrace.
Here, 'tis a burden sweet to a Mother’s love;
There, ’tis Love itself, too ardent to be hid.
Here, leaning on his Mother’s heart, he is fed at her breast;
There, fastened to the tree, he feeds us from his wounds.
The cross supplies us with the food of its refreshing fruit;
The Mother forestalls the cross, feeding the very fruit, feeding him for us.
This, then, is my decision: we cannot have the one without the other.
He that chooses the cross, must have the Mother; for when he comes to the cross, he will find the Mother standing at the foot.
He that chooses the Mother, meets the cross as well, for it was while standing at the cross, that the Mother’s heart was pierced.
O Jesus! crucified Son of a crucified Mother! look upon us from thy cross.
O living fruit! O fruit of the tree of life! refresh us with thyself, give us the enjoyment of thine own dear self.
The nearer the Church approaches to the end of her earthly existence, the more she seems to love to enrich her cycle with feasts that recall the glorious past. Indeed, one of the objects of the sacred Liturgy is to keep before our minds all that God has done for us. ‘Remember the days of old: think upon every generation,’[1] said God to His people in the alliance of Sinai. It was a law in Jacob that the fathers should hand on these traditions to their children, who were in their turn to transmit them to their descendants.[2] The Church has taken the place of the ancient Israel and her annals speak, even more than those of the Jewish people, of the manifestations of divine power. The children of the new Sion have more right than the sons and daughters of Juda to say, as they look back on the past: ‘Thou art thyself my king and my God, who commandest the saving of Jacob.’
At the time when the defeat of the Iconoclasts was being completed in the East, a new and most terrible war was beginning in which the West was to fight for the sake of civilization and for the cause of the Incarnate Word of God. Like a sudden torrent, Islam overwhelmed Eastern Europe, reaching even to Gaul, and for a thousand years it disputed, foot by foot, with Christ and His Chutch, the land occupied by the Latin races. The glorious Crusades of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, which attacked this power in its very centre, only succeeded in paralyzing it for the time being. In Spain the struggle continued until the triumph of the Cross was complete, but in other parts of Europe Christian princes forgot the traditions of Charlemagne and St. Louis, grew weary of the holy war, and gave themselves up to the pursuit of their private ambition, so that the Crescent was able once more to defy the Christian powers and renew its plan of universal conquest.
In 1453 Byzantium, the capital of the Eastern empire, fell before the Turkish janissaries, and three years later Mahomet II. invested Belgrade on the very outskirts of the Western empire. It might have been expected that all Europe would hasten to the aid of the besieged fortress, for if this last dyke were to fall, Hungary, Austria and Italy would be overwhelmed and the peoples of the North and West would share the fate of the East, that life in death, that irremediable sterility of soil and intelligence which still holds captive the once brilliant Greece. But this imminent danger only resulted in deepening the breach in Christian unity, and the Christian nations were at the mercy of a few thousand infidels. Only the Papacy was true to itself in the midst of all this egoism and perfidy. Truly Catholic in its thoughts, its labours, its sufferings, as in its joys and triumphs, it took up the common cause which had been basely betrayed by kings and princes. The powerful were deaf to the Pope’s appeals, but he turned to the humble and, trusting more in prayer to the God of armies than in military tactics, he sought for the deliverers of Christendom among the poor.
It was then that John Capistran, the saint of to-day, attained the consummation of his glory and his sanctity. At the head of a few poor men of good-will, unknown peasants gathered together by the Franciscan Friars, this ‘poor man of Christ’ undertook to defeat the strongest and best organized army of the century. On July 14, 1456, he broke through the Ottoman lines with John Hunyades, the only one of the Hungarian nobles who would accompany him, and revictualled Belgrade; and on July 22, feeling that he could no longer endure the defensive, he threw himself, to the stupefaction of Hunyades, on the enemy entrenchments. His troops were armed only with flails and pitchforks, and their only strategy was the name of Jesus. John had inherited this victorious battle-cry from his master, Bernardine of Siena. The Psalmist said: ‘Some trust in chariots and some in horses: but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God.’[3] This name, so holy and so terrible, proved once more the salvation of the people. At the end of that memorable day twenty-four thousand Turks lay dead on the field of battle; three hundred cannon and all the spoils of the infidels were in the hands of the Christians, and Mahomet II. was seeking a distant hiding-place for his shame. The news of this victory, so like that of Gedeon,[4] reached Rome on August 6, and Pope Callistus III. decreed that henceforth the Universal Church should keep a solemn commemoration of the Transfiguration of Our Lord on that day, for it was with the soldiers of the Cross as with the heroes of Israel,[5] ‘they got not the possession of the land by their own sword: neither did their own arm save them, but thy right hand and thy arm and the light of thy countenance because thou wast pleased with them,’ as with Thy beloved Son on Mount Thabor.[6]
Let us read the life of St. John Capistran as related in the Liturgy:
Joannes Capistrani in Pelignis ortus, et Perusium studiorum causa missus, in christianis et liberalibus disciplinis adeo profecit, ut ob egregiam juris scientiam aliquot civitatibus a Neapolis rege Ladislao præfectus fuerit. Dum autem earum rempublicam sanctissime gerens perturbatis rebus tranquillitatem revocare studet, capitur ipse et in vincula conjicitur: quibus mirabiliter ereptus, Francisci Assisiensis regulam inter Fratres Minores profitetur. Ad divinarum litterarum studium progressus, præceptorem nactus sanctum Bemardinum Senensem, cuius et virtutis exempla, in cultu potissimum sanctissimi Nominis Jesu ac Deiparæ propagando, egregie est imitatus. Aquilanum episcopatum recusavit, et severiore disciplina atque scriptis, quæ plurima edidit ad mores reformandos, maxime enituit.
Prædicationi verbi Dei sedulo incumbens, Italiam fere universam lustravit, quo in muñere et virtute sermonis, et miraculorum frequentia innumeras prope animas in viam salutis reduxit. Eum Martinus Quintus ad exstinguendam Fraticellorum sectam inquisitorem instituit. A Nicolao Quinto contra Judæos et Saracenos generalis inquisitor in Italia constitutus, plurimos ad Christi fidem con vert it. In Oriente multa optime constituit et in Concilio Florentino, ubi veluti sol quidam fulsit, Armenos Ecclesiæ catholicæ restituit. Idem Pontifex postulante Friderico tertio imperatore, ilium apostolicæ sedis nuntium in Germaniam legavit, ut hæreticos ad catholicam fidem et principum animos ad concordiam revocaret. In Germania aliisque provinciis Dei gloriam sexennali ministerio mirifice auxit, Hussitis, Adamitis, Thaboritis, Hebræisque innumeris doctrinæ veritate ac miraculorum luce ad Ecclesiæ sinum traductis.
Cum Callistus tertius ipso potissimum deprecante, cruce signatos mittere decrevisset, Joannes per Pannoniam, aliasque provincias volitavit, qua verbo, qua litteris principum animos ita ad bellum accendit, ut brevi millia Christianorum septuaginta conscripta sint. Ejus consilio et virtute potissimum Taurunensis victoria relata est, centum ac viginti Turcarum millibus partim cæsis, partim fugatis. Cujus victoriæ cum Romam nuntius venisset octavo idus augusti, idem Callistus ejus diei memoriae solemnia Transfigurationis Christi Domini perpetuo consecravit. Lethali morboaegrotum et Villacum delatum viri principes plures visitarunt: quos ipse ad tuendam religionem hor ta tus, animam Deo sancte reddidit anno salutis millesimo quadringentesimo quinquagetsimo sexto. Ejus gloriam post mortem Deus multis miraculis confirmavit: quibus rite probatis, Alexander Octavus anno millesimo sexcentésimo nonagesimo Joannem in sanctorum numerum retulit, ejusque officium ac missam Leo decimus tertius, altero ab ej us canonizatione sæculo, ad universam extendit Ecclesiam.
John was born at Capistrano in the Abruzzi. He was sent to study at Perugia, and made such progress in learning, both sacred and profane, that on account of his eminent knowledge of law, he was made governor of many cities by Ladislaus, King of Naples. He was labouring piously to restore peace to these troubled states when he was kidnapped and put in chains. He was wonderfully delivered from this captivity and made his profession according to the Rule of St. Francis of Assisi among the Friars Minor. He devoted himself to the study of Divinity and had as master St. Bernardine of Siena, whom he zealously imitated in spreading devotion to the most holy name of Jesus and to the Mother of God. He refused the bishopric of Aquüa, and is most famous on account of his mortified life and his writings on the reformation of manners.
He zealously devoted himself to preaching the word of God and travelled throughout nearly all Italy, where he recalled countless souls to the way of salvation by the power of his words and the number of his miracles. Martin V. made him Inquisitor against the sect of the Fraticelli and Nicolas V. appointed him InquisitorGeneral in Italy, against Judaism and Mohammedanism. He converted many souls to the faith of Christ. He did much good in the East and at the Council of Florence, where he shonelike a sun, he brought the Armenians back to the Catholic Church. The same Pope, at the request of the Emperor Frederic III., sent him into Germany as nuncio of the Apostolic See, in order that he might bring back heretics to the Catholic faith, and the minds of princes to peace and union. He did a wonderful work for God’s glory during the six years of his mission, and brought back to the Church by the fight of his teaching and miracles almost countless numbers of Hussites, Adamites, Thaborites, and Jews.
It was mainly at the entreaty of John that Callistus III. proclaimed a crusade, and John hastened through Pannonia and other provinces where by his words and letters he so roused the minds of princes that in a short time seventy thousand Christian soldiers were enrolled. It was mainly through his advice and courage that a victory was gained at Belgrade, where one hundred and twenty thousand Turks were either slain or put to flight. The news of this victory reached Rome on the sixth of August, and Pope Callistus consecrated this day for ever to the solemn commemoration of the Transfiguration of our Lord. When John was seized with his last illness and taken to Illak, many princes came to see him, and he exhorted them to protect religion. He piously yielded up his soul to God in the year of salvation 1456. God confirmed his glory by many miracles after his death, and when these had been duly proved, Pope Alexander VIII. enrolled his name among those of the saints. Two hundred years later Leo XIII. extended his office and mass to the Universal Church.
‘The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of men. Go in this thy strength and thou shalt deliver Israel out of the hand of Madian. Know that I have sent thee.’[7] Thus did the angel of the Lord salute Gedeon when he chose him from among the least of his people[8] to fulfil a high destiny. Thus do we in our turn salute thee, O glorious son of St. Francis of Assisi, and we beseech thee to be our constant aid. The enemy whom thou didst defeat on the field of battle is no longer an imminent peril for the West, but there is a greater danger, as Moses said to his people after their deliverance from Egypt: ‘Take heed and beware lest at any time thou forget the Lord thy God . . . lest after thou hast eaten and art filled, hast built goodly houses . . . and shalt have herds of oxen and flocks of sheep and plenty of gold and of silver, and of all things; thy heart be lifted up and thou remember not the Lord who brought thee out of the house of bondage.’[9] If the Turk had conquered in that struggle of which thou wert the hero, what would have become of the civilization of which we are so proud? Since thy day the Church has had once more to champion the cause of Society, which the heads of the nations no longer seem to understand. May the need of giving expression to the gratitude which is due to her preserve her children from the forgetfulness which is the great evil of the present generation. We thank God for the feast of to-day; it is a perpetual memorial of His goodness and of the noble deeds of His saints. Help us to conquer in that warfare which is being incessantly carried on within our own souls against the world, the flesh, and the devil. May the name of Jesus put our enemies to flight, may His Cross be our standard and lead us through the death of self-love to the triumph of the Resurrection.
[1] Deut. xxxii. 7. [2] Ps. lxxvii. 5. [3] Ps. xix. 8. [4] Judg. vii. [5] Ps. xliii. 4, 5. [6] St. Matt. xvii. 5. [7] Judg. vi. [8] Ibid. [9] Deut. viii. 11-14.
This email message is part of the Liturgical Year Project at LYP.network, a project of the FSSP apostolate, St. Lawrence Church, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We are in the process of transcribing and formatting the text of Dom Prosper Guéranger's massive 15-volume series, The Liturgical Year. His many meditations on the history and faith behind the feasts and the seasons of the Church's year have edified many people over the years, and we hope to share these with more people through our website and via email.
Also, this project is in a test phase as we edit and prepare the texts. As such, you can expect to find some typographical errors. If you do, please take a screen shot of the error and email it to us at typos@stlawrence.cc. Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com.